Some locales only separate the integer portion of a number, while others separate both the integer and fractional portions. In French (and even in some English locales), for example, it’s common to separate groups of thousands with space and to separate an integer and a fraction with a comma – like 1 234 567,89. However, it’s important to be aware that different locales separate digit groups differently. In many English locales we’re used to separating thousands with a comma, and to separate the integer and fraction parts of a number with a point – like 1,234,567.89. When representing large numbers, it often helps legibility to break up the numbers into digit groups. In all cases, we should always test our apps and websites on different platforms to see how our numeral systems are being rendered for our users. An international stock exchange app may need to represent all kinds of numeral systems, for example, and our font selection process may need to be sensitive to this. However, it’s worth considering international numeral systems when doing UX research for our apps and websites. This means that we can often use custom fonts that don’t include all the numeral systems we support without numbers turning into gibberish on us. Most operating systems today do a good job of falling back to system fonts when they encounter characters that the currently active font doesn’t support.
When we select fonts for our digital products we may want to make sure that they support all the numeral systems we need. In some locales like Saudi Arabia, for example, it’s common to represent numbers in the local numeral system, Eastern Arabic, and not the Western Arabic system.įonts factor into our number localization as well. It’s important to be aware of local conventions when working with numbers. It’s worth researching the locales your app or website supports to see if they officially use Western Arabic numerals or not. ✋? Heads up! » Many languages have adapted to use Western Arabic numerals in modern times. The same numbers represented in the Western Arabic and Bengali numeral systems
Bengali, for example, uses the Bengali–Assamese numeral system, whose digits differ from the Western Arabic system: ০, ১, ২, ৩, ৪, ৫, ৬, ৭, ৮, ৯. Not all languages use Western Arabic digits, though. The Western Arabic numeral system – which has the digit symbols 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 – is very common in Western locales.
A numeral system is a written representation of numbers. When localizing numbers, it’s important to have an idea of the different numeral systems that exist in the world. Numeral Systems: the 1, 2, 3s of Number Localization Numeral Systems: the 1, 2, 3s of Number Localization.